


On the Air

by TheGreatElisaMousy



Series: Chaos in College [10]
Category: Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Bing is a cereal thief, M/M, The Host is bored, radio show
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-07
Updated: 2020-01-07
Packaged: 2021-02-27 05:34:51
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,173
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22161895
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheGreatElisaMousy/pseuds/TheGreatElisaMousy
Summary: The Host doesn't really have much to do when he's not in class or doing homework. He wantssomethingto entertain himself.He's about to get just that, thanks to a little help from Bing, the Jims, and a fan of his old radio show.
Relationships: The Host/Dr. Iplier (implied)
Series: Chaos in College [10]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1570645
Comments: 4
Kudos: 56





	On the Air

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Doctor_Discord](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Doctor_Discord/gifts).



> So, I fully admit to this idea coming from Ego Manor, but it seemed like a good activity for the Host. It's something he can do without having to rely on his narrations to slowly guide him through like reading, or rely on his Sight for. A relaxing activity that doesn't hurt him at all.

The Host was curled up in his usual spot on the couch, trying to make his way through "Wit". It was an interesting play, to be sure, but it was so hard to focus on when one reads the best way the Host could. He had another hour before he had to leave for Creative Writing, and he desperately wished that Dr. Iplier was there to read it to him. He loved when Dr. Iplier read the plays to him. He'd always made sure to use different voices to indicate the different characters so he didn't have to keep telling the Host who said what. It was very helpful, and incredibly entertaining.

He was just getting through the second page of Act 1 when the CJ burst through the door. "Is RJ back yet?" he asked excitedly.

"No," the Host told him. He and Bim were currently the only ones in the townhouse, and Bim was upstairs, using the office to stretch. Apparently he'd been a little too inflexible for some of the things they'd been doing in Yoga recently, and he was determined to fix that. The Host just hoped he'd be careful. If he stretched himself too much, he'd tear something. The Host had already seen that. "What has CJ so excited?"

"So, I was over at the newspaper office in Ballard. You know, Marrin Weekly? And I asked if they had some kind of news program." He was practically bouncing with excitement. "Well, he told me no. It was just the newspaper. So I asked him if RJ and I could do a news broadcast. The highlights of the paper, or stuff that just doesn't fit. Maybe some footage of some of the sports games. _And he said yes_!"

The Host placed his bookmark in the play book, setting it down on the coffee table. "What would it be called? The Jim Reports?"

CJ was quiet for a moment as his face split into a huge grin. "That is a _great_ idea!" he exclaimed.

"Wait, no, the Host was kid—"

"Oh, this is gonna be great, they're gonna love this! I've already got an idea for a story, I just have to run it by RJ," CJ continued excitedly. With that, he ran upstairs—to the office, if Bim's yelling was anything to go by. He came back down, not at all put out by the other man's reaction, simply going to the table. Even from all the way over here, the Host could practically _feel_ him buzzing with excitement.

Well, there went any focus he had left.

He pulled out his notebook—sketchbook, really, as Dr. Warren insisted they write in something that didn't have lines—and flipped through it, looking for the piece he'd read for tonight. His fingers drifted over the spots of dried blood on one of the pages when he got to it. He was glad he'd already memorized it, because the dark spot made it nearly impossible to read.

The Host finally flipped to the last page he'd written on. It was probably a good thing he'd memorized this one, too. There was a pretty good chance he'd start bleeding again, though this time, for a different reason.

* * *

By some miracle, he'd managed to avoid blushing hard enough to bleed, though when he returned to the townhouse, his face was still slightly red. He decided to blame it on the cool fall air if anyone asked. This was the north country, after all. It got cold fast.

When he got back, the Jims were talking excitedly, sitting on their air mattress. Ed and Bim were arguing about something in the kitchen, though the Host couldn't hear any details. At some point he'd picked up the word 'glitter', but that was it. Dark, Wil, and Silver were watching some sort of game show, with Wil giving constant criticisms. He'd hosted one at one time, if the Host remembered correctly. Disc of Riches, he believed it was called. He assumed that Google and Bing were in the office, and King was probably upstairs with Acorn. The old squirrel didn't really like loud noises.

Sitting at the kitchen table, clearly trying to ignore the argument nearby, was Dr. Iplier, nose buried in one of his biology books. He looked up as soon as the Host approached. "Hey, how was—are you okay?" he asked. "Your face is a little red."

"Fine!" he replied, realizing too late that he'd probably answered a little too quickly. "It's cold out."

Dr. Iplier raised an eyebrow, clearly not believing him. Considering he'd needed to call the med student to Berman Hall right after class last week due to the stress that the last piece he'd read have given him, the Host couldn't exactly blame him. "Let me check your bandages. They need to be changed, anyway."

The Host shook his head. "They don't need to be changed for another few hours," he argued. He reached for the play book he'd set on the table before leaving. "Does Dr. Iplier mind...?"

The med student sighed, but smiled. "Alright," he answered, closing his own textbook. "Come on." He led the Host upstairs, into one of the bedrooms. King was sitting on one of the beds, Acorn cupped in his hands. "Oh, sorry!" Dr. Iplier said. "You don't mind if we...?"

King looked up at them, then at the book the Host was carrying. He smiled. "Go ahead," he told them.

The Host lay down on the unoccupied bed, Dr. Iplier sitting beside him. He opened the book, and in a pompous voice, read, " _You present a growth that, unfortunately, went undetected in stages one, two, and three. Now it is an insidious adenocarcinoma, which has spread from the primary adnexal mass_ —" He cut off before switching tones to sounding so _done_ with everything. " _'Insidious?'"_

The Host snorted at the change in tone as the med student continued to read.

He _loved_ having Dr. Iplier read to him.

* * *

The Host frowned to himself as he dug through the cupboards for something to eat. There was some leftover bacon in the fridge, but Bim had made it, and quite frankly, the Host wasn't sure he trusted it. He did know there should be some Captain Crunch left in the cupboard though, assuming their resident android cereal thief hadn't gotten to it.

His frown became a scowl when he found the box. Empty. And almost as if on cue, Bing walked into the kitchen.

Without hesitation, the Host turned and threw the box at the android. "Bing couldn't even thrown away the box when he finished the Host's cereal?" he asked, exasperated. "Now what is the Host supposed to eat?"

"Bacon?"

"Would _Bing_ eat Bim's bacon?"

There was a paused. "I think there's some bread for toast."

The Host just sighed, digging out the bread and heading for the toaster. He frowned slightly to himself. The days had been getting long and boring lately. He spent most of his time either in class, reading, writing—which he honestly didn't mind—and sleeping. He couldn't even spend much time writing out his visions, as they didn't always come when he had the free time for them, and he _had_ promised Dr. Iplier that he wouldn't force them. He'd only done it to find Bim out of necessity.

But that left his days relatively open, and he was _bored_.

It was at that moment that CJ returned from class and RJ was getting up off the inflatable mattress. The Host had an idea.

"Jims?" he asked. Once he had their attention, he continued, "The news office is in Ballard, CJ said?"

"Yeah, that's right," the Jim in question answered. "We're setting up a studio in an empty office this weekend!"

The Host nodded, and once his toast was done, he grabbed it and his bag, heading out the door with a quick wave over his shoulder.

* * *

He stood outside the news office, bracing himself. He wasn't sure how they'd take this, if they'd let him do it. But he was sure Google or Bing could design an app for him if the staff gave him the okay.

The Host raised his fist to knock, but just before it made contact, the door opened, and a small, balding man stood in the doorway. "Can I help you?" he asked, and he sounded a lot kinder than he appeared.

"The Host would like to ask a question," he began slowly. "He heard that the Jims are starting a news program soon..."

The man nodded. "Yeah, the Jim Reports, they wanted to call it."

The Host couldn't help but crack a smile. "The Host would like to make a request, if at all possible."

"What's the request?"

"A... A radio show, of sorts," he responded, picking idly at the sleeves of his coat to ground him. No need to freak the man out upon their first meeting by bleeding from his sockets from stress. "Before starting college, the Host ran his own radio show, and he'd like to run one for the students. He knows that the newspaper is written by students, and the Jims are reporting as students, but those articles and reports are more... event based. More focused on the 'what' rather than the 'who'. The Host was wondering if he could have a radio show to just... talk about what's going on in SUNY Marrin and the surrounding area as a student, but more personally. As someone involved rather than a bystander taking notes."

The man was quiet for a second before a smile slowly spread across his face. "So that's what happened to Morning with the Host," he finally commented.

That startled the Host. "The head of the news office listened to the Host's show?"

"Yeah," he replied enthusiastically. "It was really entertaining, and I'm pretty sure the internet thought you died or something. You never mentioned you were blind."

"The Host never found it important," he answered simply.

The man smiled again. "Fair enough. I'm Watson, by the way. I'd love to set you up with a show, but we don't really have a way to broadcast it. The Jim Reports will be airing on the school website, but..."

"The Host knows a few people who might be able to program an app for it," he told him. "It would only have to be advertised, either in the paper or the Jims' show. Does Watson have another empty office or studio?"

"We do, actually. It's a little too small for someone to actually get any real work done, but just recording a radio show..." He nodded. "I'll get everything set up. You said you know the Jims?"

He nodded. "The Host shares a townhouse with them, actually."

"Great! I'll have them tell you when we have everything all set up for you. Shoot me an email—well, have someone shoot me an email, anyway—" He motioned to his eyes "—when the app is all set up, and we'll get you started as soon as we can."

"The Host thanks Watson, really."

* * *

It wasn't hard to convince Bing to program an app for him to send his recordings to. He even set it up live, once getting permission to wirelessly connect it to the recording software, as well as created an archive for anyone who couldn't listen to the live show to catch up. It was remarkable, and to the Host's surprise, it only took a _week_ to get his show up and running.

He'd record three days a week, Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Just a short show, from 11:30-12:15. After a brief discussion with Watson on the format, it was decided that he'd simply talk about events on campus for the coming week on Monday, share personal experiences or things he'd noticed, keeping names and specific times or classes private, on Wednesday, and Fridays he'd alternate between telling some kind of story—which had apparently been Watson's favorite part of Morning with the Host—and responding to questions and comments about the show, once the forum was up and running on the school website. He almost couldn't believe that Watson was willing to do all this for him, but the man himself had confirmed; he'd been a fan. And as he was primarily in charge of anything that went on in the news office, he had the final say in what did and didn't air.

It was the first Monday after he'd been told his show was approved, and he headed from his psychology class straight to the news office. Watson led him to his recording 'booth', not seeming too surprised at how little assistance the Host really needed. He had about fifteen minutes because his show went live, and he inspected the equipment around him, making sure he became familiar with everything he would be using. Once the clock hit 11:30, he flicked the 'LIVE' switch and leaned toward the microphone.

"Good morning, SUNY Marrin, and welcome to Marrin On the Air..."

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, it may seem a little weird, and a little too easy in regards to the Host getting his show (and the start of the Jim Reports), but the school Marrin is based on was remarkably nice, staff-wise, and very accommodating. Combine that with the fact that Watson was a fan of Morning with the Host and fully in charge of all news broadcasts, I don't find it that unlikely that he'd give the Host his own show. A lot of his material, or at least the basic idea, would probably go through a vetting process, just to make sure it was all appropriate, but still. The Host had a radio show in Ego Manor, as stated above, and I thought it would be a good hobby for him, a way to keep busy.
> 
> If anyone's wondering exactly what he read in Creative Writing, what made him embarrassed enough to almost start bleeding, don't worry, that's coming next time!


End file.
